The bathroom is the most dangerous place in the home for accidents. Bathtubs have hard, smooth surfaces that can become extremely slippery when wet. Each year hundreds of thousands of accidents are reported involving bathtubs. A bathtub liner is useful to prevent a bather from slipping, falling and consequently injuring himself.
Bathtub liners are known, e.g., from U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,602,393; 4,630,323; 4,956,882; and 4,051,563.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,602,393 discloses a bathtub liner that extends above the height of the bathtub into which it is inserted and that may be rolled up for storage. The inner surface of the liner is smooth, which is a safety hazard when the liner is wet. Neither the floor drain nor the overflow drain connections between the liner and the bathtub appear to be water-resistant or water-proof seals. This deficiency would allow stagnant water to collect between the liner and the bathtub and thereby promote the growth of pathogens such as bacteria and mildew.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,630,323 and 4,956,882 describe bathtub liners that are not capable of containing water within their confines. If the liner were to be kept in the bathtub, this deficiency would also allow stagnant water to collect between the liner and the bathtub and thereby promote the growth of pathogens such as bacteria and mildew.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,051,563 discloses a bathtub liner having chambers that are filled with water before use and then emptied after use. The patent states that "Where the liner includes a bottom portion, the rear portion may be a water filled cushion and the front part is preferably without cushioning and is textured to inhibit slipping when the bather stands in the tub." Apparently, the front portion is not water cushioned because the effect of water cushioning would be like standing on a water bed--extremely unstable.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,267,609 describes an accordion-pleated gasket assembly for coupling the drainage outlet openings of a bathtub and of a plastic liner installed within the bathtub. The coupling is quite complex and is apparently not leak-resistant because the gasket assembly is provided with a one-way valve for draining out the water that may accumulate in the space between the plastic liner bottom wall and the bottom wall of the bathtub.